Chasing Roses
by pottertree
Summary: "What you seek is seeking you." - Rumi A typical love/hate relationship, with some Potters and Weasleys thrown into the mix.
1. Chapter 1: The Closet

Rose Weasley wasn't sure how she had gotten into this situation.

She only knew that she was pressed against a hard brick wall by none other than Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, her sworn nemesis. His hands were pushing her shirt up, and she wasn't stopping him, because she… well, she had initiated it. And she didn't _want_ it to stop.

She would have to examine this particular feeling later, but for now, she was just going to kiss him back. She was just going to slip her own hands up his shirt, feeling his heartbeat quicken under her fingertips. All those years of fighting him, of trying to get her hand in the air quicker than him, of _hating_ him for beating her in DADA year after year... they melted away with every flick of his tongue against hers.

She gave a breathy moan, unable to stop herself, and he paused for a moment, his hands clutching her thick, curly red hair.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her lips, and he pushed off of her, panting slightly from the effort.

"Why?" she asked, pulling him back to her, disoriented. He turned his cheek so that her lips landed clumsily onto them and she drew back, frowning at him. "What?"

"No," he said, his eyes turning icy, "no."

"Okay," Rose said, her hands dropping to her sides. "No then."

He stared at her for a moment, grey eyes on blue. She was about to say something more, but he turned abruptly and walked out of the small closet. The door slammed behind him, and Rose stood there, confused and frustrated. Fighting tears, she took a deep breath and straightened her shirt. She counted to thirty and walked out of the door and into the hallway in front of the Room of Requirement. She closed her eyes and walked back and forth, thinking of the password in her mind. The door materialized and she walked inside.

The room was just as she left it. It was teeming with Hogwarts students, the music pounded loudly, and the drinks were freely flowing, supplied by Rose's cousins, James Potter and Fred Weasley. She made a beeline for the drink table, even though she probably didn't need more, and grabbed a shot. She took it in one go and let it burn through her, taking the tears away with it.

"Are you okay?"

She turned to see Albus Potter, her cousin and best friend, sitting in a chair near the drink table, watching her curiously. She grabbed two more shots and handed one to him, taking the seat on his right.

"To how much of an _arse_ Scorpius Malfoy is," she said, raising her glass.

"I'll drink to that!" he said, downing his own shot. "Anything happen in particular?"

"The usual," she said, averting her eyes. "Just being a prat."

They sat in companiable silence for a while, watching their classmates dancing and mingling. Rose saw fourth year Lily Potter, Albus's little sister, dancing with a tall, handsome guy that Rose vaguely recognized from seventh year. She shoved Albus in the side and discretely pointed in their direction. "Isn't he in James's year?" she asked.

Al's green eyes widened, and Rose had to put her hand on his arm to keep him from standing up. "Bloody hell," he cursed, "he is three years older than her!"

"I'm surprised James hasn't seen them," Rose said. "What's his name… he's in Ravenclaw I think…"

"Davies. Christopher Davies," Al said, sounding annoyed. "He's a chaser on the Ravenclaw team. I'm going to go over there."

"You're going to make a scene," Rose said, "and Lily will probably turn you into a toad before you could even get a word in, so I think you might want to think before you do anything rash."

"You're right," he sighed. He grabbed another shot from the table next to him and took it. "Distract me. Tell me what Malfoy did."

"He just insulted me as usual," Rose said.

Al looked around and then at her, "Where is he? I saw him here earlier. I don't know how he got an invite."

"James invited all the Slytherins," Rose said, "in a fit of house unity. But I think he's just trying to hook up with Vicky Desai. He's been after that girl for _ages_."

"Well the problem isn't Slytherins," Al said defensively, "it's just Malfoy."

"I know it's not Slytherins," Rose said fondly, patting her cousin's cheek. The shots were really starting to set in. "I'm perfectly friendly with the lot of you."

"Except Malfoy," they both said together, laughing. Rose was already feeling better.

The party was one of James and Fred's beginning of term parties, only for fourth years and up. James had some way of getting to Hogsmeade and getting firewhiskey that he only shared with his cousin, Fred Weasley. Al was particularly sore about this, but James had promised him and Rose the secret after graduating at the end of the year.

"There should always be a Potter or a Weasley at this school who knows," he once had told them mysteriously. He refused to say anything more on the subject.

Rose had been at the party for a whole hour before she spotted Malfoy leaning in the corner, a drink in his hand, talking to Arianna Zabini, his fellow sixth year Slytherin and one of the most beautiful girls to ever step foot in Hogwarts. Normally, Rose would not have let her gaze linger on him, her hate usually trumping any other emotion she might've felt for him. But she had just finished her firewhiskey and let herself wonder. He was wearing a deep green blazer and a white shirt with skinny black pants. His blonde hair was tousled gently, as if he had just run a hand through it. He was laughing at something Zabini had said to him, and she was touching him lightly on his arm. Rose watched him for too long, and he finally noticed her. His eyebrow had gone up slightly, and a small smirk lit on his lips, causing a bright red blush to creep onto Rose's cheek. She averted her gaze quickly and tried to disappear into a group of students who were dancing in the corner.

Rose could've sworn that Malfoy could somehow apparate on the grounds of Hogwarts, because a second later he was in front of her, catching her before she tripped on someone's shoe. She pulled hastily back, glaring at him.

"I just saved you from an embarrassing fall, Weasley," he drawled, his smirk growing. "You could thank me instead."

"Thanks for nothing, Malfoy," she said with venom, trying to stalk off. He grabbed her hand and she stopped abruptly.

"You look hot, Weasley," he said, with immense arrogance. Rose's blush reached her roots. "You look like that for anyone in particular?"

"You're drunk," she pointed out. She could've stepped away, she could've walked away even, but something kept her rooted to the spot. It was his eyes. He was smirking, but there was something genuine in his eyes.

"Maybe," he agreed, "but so are you."

"What about Arianna Zabini?" she asked, hearing the childishness in her voice.

"What about her?"

"We hate each other," Rose said.

"We could just not," he said, "for now."

Rose considered this for a heartbeat. Then she was pulling him out of the Room of Requirement, unnoticed by any of the drunk students by the entrance. Before she knew it, they were shut in a nearby supply closet, kissing ferociously.

And now she was here, downing her fourth shot with Albus, searching for his blonde hair. But it was nowhere to be found, and Rose assumed he had turned in early. _Good riddance,_ she thought, annoyed.

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy walked through the halls of Hogwarts, cursing himself. He couldn't _believe_ what just happened. Rose- Rose _freaking_ Weasley. The bane of his existence. The know-it-all, bossy, stubborn girl made his blood boil with anger.

Except when she made his blood boil with need.

He stopped walking, leaning against a wall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remember those moments before he had sped off. Her lips were so soft, her hair smelled so sweet, and she was just so _damn_ lovely, it drove him nuts. He had been dreaming about that for _months_ now. It had haunted him. And the way she was looking at him from across the party, the way she watched him for so long. It made him reckless tonight. Reckless enough to tell her she was hot. Reckless enough to push her against the wall and snog her senseless.

" _But we hate each other_ ," her voice came, jarring him from his musings.

He wanted to punch a wall in frustration. He shouldn't have let that continue. She was obviously using him. She hated him, after all. He saw it in every look she gave him. How could he be so stupid, to let himself be so weak? They both had a few drinks in them, sure, but it wasn't a good enough reason for him to completely lose his mind.

"Who needs it?" he muttered to himself. "Don't want to deal with that bloody family anyway."

With this final thought, he headed down to the dungeons, hoping that his dormitory would be empty.

 **A/N: Just an idea I had and hope to pursue! Feel free to review~**


	2. Chapter 2: The Schedule

Rose woke up the next morning, predictably hating herself. She lay in bed, her head pounding, grateful to all the wizarding gods that it was Sunday. She sat up and pulled her curtains aside to see that she was not the only one despising themselves this morning.

Jacqueline Spinnet was sitting on the edge of her bed, her head between her knees. Rose rummaged through her trunk before finding some potion she had wrapped in a sock. She took a shot of it before gingerly walking towards Jackie.

"Here," she said, handing the golden liquid to the tall, blonde girl.

Jackie, not even looking at the potion, took a huge swig of it and handed it back to Rose. She straightened up slightly. "Thanks," she managed to say, rubbing her eyes. "Ugh, I hate James's stupid parties."

"Not so _loud_!" came a hiss from the bed next to Jackie's. It was Regina Sawyer's groggy voice. Rose pulled back the curtain and offered some of the potion to her but was batted away angrily.

"Rude," Rose said loudly, earning her another angry exclamation. She grinned and drew the curtains around Reg's bed. "I'm going down to breakfast. Want anything?"

"I'm coming," Jackie whispered, getting to her feet gingerly. "And if I see James on the way, I'm going to kick him right in the balls."

"It's not his fault you drank so much," Rose said, as they entered the deserted Gryffindor common room.

"It is," she said, "he challenged me to a shot drinking contest. And you know I can't turn down any sort of competition." Rose rolled her eyes, which caused her head to pound in vengeance.

"Did you win at least?"

Jackie gave her a righteous glare. "Of _course_. Do you know me at all?"

The Great Hall was almost as deserted as the common room, and Rose supposed everyone was trying to sleep off their hangovers. Rose sat down, pulling a plate of eggs and sausage towards her. Jackie pulled a face, took a piece of toast, and began picking at it. They ate for a while, before Rose noticed that her friend kept giving her covert glances.

"What's up?" Rose asked, frowning. "Something you want to tell me?"

"I saw you last night," she said quietly. Rose froze. She arranged her features into one of ignorance.

"Yeah, I was there too," she said, trying to sound casual.

"No. I saw you leave with Mal—"

"Shh," Rose said quickly, covering her friend's mouth. "Don't even say it."

"Okay, okay," Jackie said, her voice muffled. Rose dropped her hand. "I'm not judging," Jackie said, shrugging. "Just wanted to know some details. I thought you hated each other, so I was just curious…" She gave Rose a sidelong glance, taking another nibble of toast. Rose sighed. It was hard to keep things from Jackie.

"We made out in a supply closet and then he stopped and stormed off."

"What?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide, "why?"

"No clue. Probably remembered how much he can't stand me. We were both really drunk." Rose looked up to see Al walking towards their table, looking as tired as she felt. She turned to Jackie, feeling a little nauseous, and it wasn't because of her hangover. "Don't tell anyone," she said in a rush, "especially not Al." Jackie nodded subtly, and continued to nibble her toast.

Al sat down across from them, taking some sausage for himself. "You are not supposed to be at this table," said Jackie, in a haughty voice.

Al rolled his eyes. "You didn't care so much about _segregation_ last night, when you were all over Marianne. She's in my house, if I remember correctly." Jackie threw her toast at him, and he caught it deftly. He took a rather large bite of it, ignoring her scowl.

"Marianne Alietta?" gasped Rose, "I didn't know you liked her!"

"We can talk about who _you_ like instead," Jackie said, giving Rose a challenging look. Rose shut up, but the damage was partly done.

"Who do you like?" Al asked, perking up.

"No one," Rose said, shooting Jackie a glare.

"You know Rose," said Jackie quickly, her voice high, "she's just waiting for Prince Charming to drop out of nowhere. None of these Hogwartians interest her." Al still looked suspicious, but didn't have a chance to press on, as a first year had run up to Rose, a note in hand.

"Rose Weasley?" she chirped, holding the note out. Rose took it, thanking the girl, and unfurled it.

"Why?" Rose groaned. "There's a prefect meeting today at 2pm."

"On a Sunday?"

"It's the new Head Girl, Veronica. She's too intense. We still haven't gotten prefect schedules yet because the Head Boy Ricky is too laid back and didn't get them done."

Al yawned pointedly, standing up. "Have fun with that. I'm going back to bed." He left, and Rose let out a nervous breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.

"I'm going to bed too," Jackie said, standing up and stretching.

"No you aren't!"

They turned to see James reaching their table, looking annoyingly fresh.

"Excuse me?" Jackie asked, glaring at him.

"Quidditch practice, my love," he said, snatching a sausage from the table. "I scheduled it for ten. I've just gotten the rest of the team up."

"How does it feel, James?" Jackie grumbled.

"How does what feel?"

"To be the most _hated_ person in Gryffindor?"

James grinned widely. "That's fine with me, as long as we win the cup."

Jackie rolled her eyes and stepped out of the tables. "Don't go back to bed Jackie! I'll make Rose drag you out!" he called as she started to walk away.

"You can't make me do anything," Rose shot at her cousin, annoyed.

"I'm just going to get my broom," Jackie said angrily, "and another shot of Rose's hangover potion."

"Weak!" James yelled, before tousling Rose's hair and heading towards the entrance hall.

Rose got up herself. Nothing was stopping _her_ from going back to bed. She yawned widely and started to leave her table, when she caught sight of Scorpius Malfoy walking into the great hall. He saw her immediately, and they both froze in place. She was considering running up to him. To say… something? She wasn't sure what. But before she could make up her mind, he had hurried back out of the great hall, obviously rushing to get away from her.

Well that was fine with her.

* * *

Scorpius walked into the Great Hall at 1:45 pm, hoping to get there early enough so he wouldn't be stuck sitting next to Weasley. He saw Vicky Desai sitting by herself at the end of the meeting table and hurried to sit with her. She smiled at his approach, and moved her bag out of the seat next to her.

"Hey Scorp, how are you?"

"Good," he said, taking a seat and throwing his bag down at his feet. "Wish I wasn't here on a Sunday, but can't complain." She swept her thick, black hair up into a ponytail, her golden bangles shimmering on her arms. "I hope they schedule us together," he said hopefully.

"They never put us with people in our own house," she said. Scorpius scowled, suddenly remembering this. Last year, he was paired with Margaret Kensington from Ravenclaw. He wouldn't have minded being paired with her again, or Hufflepuff Jenny Pierce. But there was a one in three chance he would be paired up with Weasley. He did _not_ like those odds.

Rose Weasley walked in at that moment, glanced at him, and hurried to the other end of the table where the other five Gryffindors were already seated. She looked a lot more rested than she had earlier that morning, when Scorpius had ran like a coward upon seeing her. He just hadn't been ready yet.

It was funny. He had known about his feelings for Rose Weasley for a few weeks now, but it was different now. Now that he had kissed her in that closet, knew the feeling of her hands on his chest, it was all he could think of when he looked at her. That feeling was always punctuated by a knife like pain when he remembered that it wouldn't ever work out. Not only did _she_ hate him, her entire family hated him. He couldn't really blame them either. His dad and grandfather had really screwed him out of any sort of respectable future. He had to physically shake the thoughts out of his head, like shaking water out of his ears. Veronica stood up at the head of the table, her Head Girl badge glittering on her chest.

"Hello prefects," she said, brightly. "I'm glad to see you all made it, despite the hangovers I know you all have thanks to Potter and Weasley." There were some guilty mutters through the table, but Veronica cleared her throat and continued. "Ricky has finally put the schedules together –" she took a moment to shoot a glare in the Head Boy's direction. Ricky was slouched in the chair beside her, and winked at being addressed, earning appreciative laughter and a scowl from Veronica. Papers were floating down the table, and Scorpius watched as Rose grabbed hers. Her eyes narrowed at the paper, and his heart sank. He didn't have to look at his own paper to know who his partner was. "There are no partner swaps, so don't bother asking."

 _Gryff 6y R Weasley w. Slyth 6y S Malfoy_

Veronica continued to make announcements, but Scorpius had stopped listening. There had to be a way out of this. He knew that he was probably being dramatic, but he couldn't stand the thought of being near to her so many times a week. For so many hours a week. Being a sixth year prefect came with more round hours than the year before.

He glanced up and saw Rose staring down the table at him. She quickly looked back up at Veronica, who had just finished the meeting and was dismissing them all. Scorpius stood up and hurried over to the front, where she was arranging some of her papers.

"Veronica," he whispered, aware that Weasley wasn't too far away, "listen can you please just make an exception? To the partner swap?"

Veronica looked up at him, harassed. "Absolutely not, Malfoy. Deal with who you've got." She put her papers in her bag and walked away, with Ricky following closely behind. Groaning, Scorpius turned to see Rose watching him. She frowned and walked towards him, an angry look on her face.

"We're stuck together," she said, "I get that you don't want that. I don't either. So we're just going to get through the rounds and we'll be civil. But the civility ends when rounds end."

"Fine with me," Scorpius said.

"Fine," she agreed. She glanced down at her paper. "I'll see you tomorrow night then. 8 pm."

"8 pm," he repeated, trying to muster as much venom in his voice that she had. She turned and left, and he watched her free hair bounce behind her like flames and felt a confusing mix of frustration, longing, and anger.


	3. Chapter 3: Water to Wine

Albus Potter was frustrated. Which admittedly, wasn't a new feeling for him. He waved his wand at the goblet of crystal clear water in front of him, but instead of turning into wine, it stayed resolutely clear. _For fuck's sake_ he thought to himself.

"Potter! 10 points from Slytherin for language." Al looked up to see an angry Professor Tipton glaring down at him. Apparently he didn't think it to himself.

"Sorry sir," he muttered. Tipton came around the table to watch Al.

"Show me how you're doing it," he said. Al raised his wand and waved it, silently repeating the incantation in his mind. Tipton shook his head when nothing happened.

"Your wand movements are off. It's more subtle than that, and I don't think you're concentrating on the spell hard enough. I know you have it in you, Potter. You just have to concentrate." He turned to the class, his eyes gazing around. "Malfoy! Come here."

Al watched as Scorpius Malfoy, looking confused, got up from his seat next to Vicky and walked over. "Sit with Albus. You are particularly good at this spell, and I think you can help him."

Malfoy nodded and sat down. Al, who was flushed with embarrassment, avoided his eyes and tried again, concentrating hard. "Here," Malfoy said quietly, raising his wand.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Al said, "I can do it on my own." Malfoy snorted, and Al turned to glare at him. "You want to say something?"

"Look," Malfoy sighed, "I'm just trying to help, Potter. It's just a small thing that you're doing wrong, and if I just show you, you'll get it easily. But if you don't want my help, fine. I couldn't care less." Al glared at him, ready to retort, but a voice in his head which sounded suspiciously like his father, told him to calm down. _Deep breaths. He's not trying to be a jerk_. _You don't have to be one._

"Okay. Show me."

Malfoy shrugged, raised his own wand, and showed Al the slight movement he was doing wrong. A few minutes of trying later, the goblet of water on Al's desk had turned to deep crimson. "Take a sip," Malfoy said, pushing the glass towards him.

Al hesitantly sipped and grinned despite himself. "Holy shit," he said, "that's wine."

Malfoy laughed. "I told you it was just a small thing off. You did it man."

"Thank you," Al said, glancing towards Malfoy. "For helping without being an arse."

Malfoy looked at him for a moment. He looked like he might have wanted to say something, but the bell rang to indicate the end of class and instead he just muttered a "no problem." He stood up to pack his bags and Al looked after him, feeling strange. He had shared a dorm with Malfoy for six years now, and this was the first conversation they had that didn't involve insults.

He grabbed his bag from the table. "Hey, Malfoy!" he yelled, "wait!" Scorpius stopped abruptly and turned around. "Want to get some dinner?" Al asked.

"Er… okay."

"Good, we can talk Quidditch," Al said, starting to walk, "James has been such a fucking prick about it, he won't even acknowledge that I got made captain too."

"Oh right, I forgot Potter—er… James – was made captain of Gryffindor."

"How nice for you. He would never let us forget. But anyway, if we win the cup instead of him, it'll be the most humiliating thing that could happen to him, and _that_ would make me very happy."

Scorpius laughed. "Yeah well, he's really good. Remember last year, when he scored twenty something goals? In one game? By himself?"

Al's face darkened and he stopped, looking at Scorpius. "Mate. If we're going to be friends, you're going to need to _not_ compliment James. I get enough of that at home."

Scorpius grinned. "So we're friends now Potter?"

Al continued walking. "Don't make me kick your ass, Malfoy. Trial basis."

"I'm honored," Scorpius responded, rolling his eyes. "What makes you think I want to be friends with you?"

"Everyone wants to be my friend," Al responded as they reached the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.

"You know, people think your brother is the bigheaded, arrogant Potter, but I think it might be you," Scorpius said, taking a seat. They were attracting quite a few curious looks from their fellow Slytherins. Al and Scorpius had not only not been friends, but were often openly hostile towards one another. So to see them sit and have a meal together was a unique experience.

"You haven't met Lily yet," Al said, laughing.

* * *

Rose crumpled up her mother's letter and threw it into the nearest fireplace with a strangled yell of frustration. Hugo looked around at her in alarm. "What happened?"

"Bloody ruined my appetite," Rose muttered. "She went on for two paragraphs about how important this year is for N.E.W.T.s."

"I got a similar one about O.W.L.s next year," Hugo said, giving his older sister a sympathetic smile. They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, which was slowly emptying for dinner. Rose has been reading her mother's most recent letter and Hugo was sitting nearby, flipping through a Muggle novel.

"I thought her running for Minister meant she'd have less time to bug me," Rose snapped.

"She means well," Hugo said. Rose rolled her eyes. Hugo was too nice for his own good.

"She's just trying to be mail order controlling," she said, snatching up her bag. "I've got rounds. I'll see you later Hugh."

"Try not to kill Malfoy," he said, avoiding her kick on the way past.

"Or try not to snog him," whispered Jackie, who had walked into the portrait hole just as Rose was walking out. She shot her the dirtiest look she could and climbed out.

She found Malfoy leaning against the wall, using his wand to levitate a stone. He didn't hear her coming, and she had to clear her throat loudly to catch his attention.

"You're late," he said in response. She checked her watch. It was 8:05. She hated that he was right.

"Sorry," she said, shortly. "Let's do this." He shrugged and pushed off from the wall, not bothering to try to match her quick pace. She turned to glare at him. "Try to keep up."

"We're supposed to take it slow. Make sure we do them thoroughly."

"I have shit to do, Malfoy," Rose said irritably. But she slowed down slightly, and soon they were walking side by side in a tense silence. She could smell him again, the same smell as in that supply closet. They walked by a corridor, and Scorpius stopped to pull a tapestry back. Rose watched him, and had a sudden vision of herself behind that tapestry, wrapped around Malfoy.

"Weasley, I thought you have shit to do," Malfoy drawled, pulling Rose out of her thoughts. She blushed and hurried after him. They reached the seventh floor before they saw another student.

"Perry," Rose said warningly, checking her watch, "it's five to nine. If you're not back in Ravenclaw tower by then, you'll get detention."

"I'm going," the fifth year said quickly, before hurrying off in the other direction, casting furtive looks in their direction.

Malfoy stopped abruptly, looking around with suspicion. "What?" Rose asked.

"He was with a girl. I wonder where she went."

Rose laughed, "How do you know?"

"He looked way too guilty to _not_ be with a girl," Malfoy said. "Trust me."

"I trust you as far as I can throw you," Rose snapped, before she could stop herself.

Malfoy, who had been about to say something more, stopped to look at Rose, who had quickly averted her eyes. "I am aware that you despise me, Weasley, you don't have to worry about reminding me. It was only an expression."

Rose wanted to retort, but before she could say more, a fifth year girl ran out from a classroom. "Oh!" she exclaimed, her face flaming red at the sight of them.

"Ha!" Malfoy said, "told you. Ten points from Hufflepuff, Lorna."

"Why?" the girl demanded, her face still flaming red.

"Snogging in a out of bounds classroom," Malfoy said, "and being out past curfew."

"It's only _just_ turned nine," the girl said, glaring at him.

"And are you your common room?" Rose demanded.

"Do you _enjoy_ lording over the rest of us?" the girl asked, rolling her eyes.

"Get out of here, before we give you detention," Malfoy said flatly. She gave them one last look of fury before disappearing down the stairs.

"Don't gloat," Rose warned, "just because you were right about –"

"Our rounds are over," Malfoy said abruptly, cutting her off. "I'll see you Wednesday." He turned and followed the girl down the stairs, and Rose was left standing on the seventh floor, staring after him, feeling just as she did after he left the supply closet.

* * *

Scorpius was halfway down the first of seven flights of stairs when he heard her. "Malfoy!" she yelled, running after him. He stopped climbing down the stairs and turned to look at her, keeping his face impassive. "What is your problem?" she demanded.

"What is _my_ problem?" Scorpius asked, his head still turned.

"Yeah! You keep w – why are you so angry? What did I do?"

He walked up the stairs furiously, and before he knew what he was doing, he was inches away from her face, breathing hard. " _The civility ends when rounds end_? Do you remember saying that?" he asked, his eyes blazing.

She took a step back. "I – I did."

"Then what is _your_ issue? I'm doing what you asked of me."

"This is stupid," she said, frustrated. She had brought her hands up to clutch her hair, and Scorpius couldn't help but watch them, wishing that he could clutch her hair like that. He remembered how soft those curls were, and he just wanted to grab them and pull her to him, kiss some damn sense into her.

"Can I please just _leave_?" Scorpius asked. He didn't think he could handle this for much longer.

" _No_ ," she said, her eyes shining. She was staring at him, her breathing rapid and shallow. She stepped forward, and he couldn't stop staring at her lips, which were as red as her name. "You can't just _leave_. Why do you hate me so much?"

"Excuse me?" Scorpius asked, letting out a short, angry bark of a laugh. He stepped back from her, letting his head clear. "You've hated me since you saw me on the fucking platform when we were _eleven_. You made it very clear how you felt on the train five minutes later when I asked to share a compartment with you and Potter. You have spent the last _six years_ confirming how very much you hate me."

She closed her mouth abruptly, looking as if she had been struck dumb.

"I'm fucking leaving, if you don't mind," Scorpius snapped. He turned back around and stormed down the stairs. He didn't know if he was relieved or not when she didn't try to call him back.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews fuel me! Thanks to everyone who has left one. :)**


End file.
